Game in a nutshell: With an opportunity to sweep their second consecutive series in an AL park and complete the first 6-0 road trip in team history, the Nationals left little to chance. They pounced on the Blue Jays early and then blasted their way to another convincing victory, thanks to a surprise contributor: rookie Tyler Moore, who clubbed two homers and a double and drove in five runs. Ian Desmond also homered for for a Nationals team that launched eight home runs during this three-game series. Stephen Strasburg happily accepted the offensive support, tossing six innings of two-run ball to improve to 8-1 for the season and finish off a fabulous road trip in style.

Hitting highlight: Moore earned his promotion to the major leagues by crushing home runs left and right in the minors, including 31 each of the last two seasons. But he had yet to connect in his limitedRead more »

Mark, is this your first Instant Analysis of an away game you didn't attend? In addition to enjoying your inimitable summary of the action, we don't have to deal with the 200 comment limit on the last post anymore. I commend you Sir.

What is it with first base? * Morse moves to first and explodes in 2011* LaRoche comes back from an injury and explodes in 2012* DeRosa fills in at first and explodes before his injury * Moore fills in at first and has the game of his lifeMaybe we need to rotate Zim and Espi to first to get them going. Who knew it was this easy??I am a problem solver!GYFNG!!!!

Tyler Moore just interviewed on MLB. Said Lidge went and got his first home run ball. Kudos to Lidge. Said he has not talked to anyone, including family. He will not turn his phone back on until he is in the states, roaming charges to costly.

So in our trip through the NL East, we miss Beckett, Morrow gets hurt, and we miss Sabathia. Nice. Anyone know how the Rays' rotation is lining up? Price and Hellickson and pitching like gangbusters this year, and Moore and Shields are no picnic.

Ghost Of Steve M. said… pRAA, if asking Mark to delete someone who was using my Steve M. name is the same in your mind as asking for a comment to be deleted then guilty, you got me. Sheesh.Perhaps it was your lapdog Gonat or maybe NatsJack who had every comment I made last week that expressed an opinion counter to yours deleted. Same difference.

Great call by Davey to pull Stras. Love watching him pitch and will love it even more when he's able to go deep into the season because of good decisions like this.Also, big props to the rook. One he'll remember for a while.Wish we were in the AL East now! (Might change my mind on that next week.)

NatsJack in Florida said… pRAA…. If anybody deleted your comments, it was Mark himself. I haven't had any direct communication with Mark since April. June 13, 2012 4:20 PM _______________________________Me neither and I don't even know what he is talking about. Maybe Mark can chime in.

Seems like the Nats are starting to get lots of mlb-wide recognition. You cannot tell me they have any idea who Tyler Moore is. I wonder if the Blue Jays even had a scouting report on him. I can just hear new nats fans, or people who follow casually saying "who did you say had 5 rbi's?" It wasn't Bryce?" No – it was another one of this year's terrifying trio!!! Hah! What a 1-2-3 punch! We have to have some terrific coaching and managing in the minors, folks.

Section 222 — I was thinking CC could make the Nats rotation as the 5th starter. And Kuroda and Pettitte aren't bad, but I'm not sure either of them would be an upgrade over any of the Nats starters. Again, neither of them would be any better than 5th.

Mark – does your twitter post mean we won't be able to watch Sunday's game on tv? The weekend series with the evil empire seems a little confusing – can you clear it up? In more words than twitter allows?

222,We missed Morrow, but now so does everyone else who is playing the Jays this month (i.e. Philthies and Marlins).And for the TB Rays, we'll get Price, Hellickson and Moore. Price is going today and will face off against Stras. Hellickson will get Gio.We have off tomorrow and both teams are off Monday.

Jim Salisbury ‏@JSalisburyCSN Brad Lidge about to enter game in Toronto to try to help Nats go 10 games up on last place Phils in NL East________________________________This guy is brutal on his own team. His Tweets just hit at the heart of Philthie fans. I couldn't image a DC Beat Writer being so cold.

baseballswami said… Did we really break two of their starting pitchers in this series? June 13, 2012 4:47 PM ___________________________Its real bad as Toronto saying Drabek felt a pop in his elbow. At least Morrow will be back.I will go out on a limb and say the Orioles won't finish in Last Plase this year in the AL East.

Shoot. I woulda paid Tyler Moore's roaming charges so he could call his Mom. I am over the moon excited for him! No game till Friday night. This is almost as bad as the AllStar break. But I know they need it.

Jane, I'd split Tyler's bill with you. I was high up on ladder between two houses today, with both house's AC units going, and though I brought a radio, I couldn't hear much. Then I heard about Tyler's RBI double, and later heard that he had just hit a 2 run dinger. I told my co-worker that somewhere there was a very happy and proud Mom and Dad.GYFNG,!!!

Yes, Mick, I'm sure Zim is dogging it. Because lack of production in sports is invariably an indication of a lack of effort by the athlete./snarkYes, Zim is struggling; he may even end up having a career-worst year. If he doesn't pull out, he may end up with a season like the one that David Wright had last year (struggled to hit .250, little power, etc). You know, the same David Wright who has been trading off the NL 3b Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards for the past few years? The same David Wright who is a legit MVP candidate this season? The Nats will live with Zim, and sooner or later will prosper because of Zim. Geez Louise, it's like sports talk radio knuckleheads have invaded NI.

John C., let's also remember the corollary: that guys who make the same mistake over and over — say, swinging at sliders in the dirt — are making that mistake because nobody told them not to. If they only knew not to do it (say, because they read our comments), they'd fix all their problems.

Someone asked about Zim's offseason conditioning. He and Lombo were at the Park in the training rooms every day all winter. It was mentioned when Ramos came home after the kidnapping. I remember thinking that's a long, lonely grind.

Need some help here:Going to both Friday's and Saturday's games. I love the Nats. But I grew up a Yankees fan; the first time I followed – or even understood – baseball was the fabled 1961 season.* Ever since then, I was a Yankees fan live or die, and it was never a problem for me until 2005. I still cheer for the Bronx Bombers, even though I can't follow them nearly as closely as I do our Nats. I'll cheer for the Nats this weekend, but I'll feel awful doing it – like I'm picking a winner in a fight between my wife and my mother.Should I consider psychotherapy?*My parents were immigrants who couldn't distinguish Babe Ruth from Mario Mendoza. A couple of weeks ago, when the Nats were on the Sunday night national broadcast, my mom happened to be around and she saw Davey in the dugout. "Isn't he too old to be playing?" she asked. I love my mom…

pRAA…. If anybody deleted your comments, it was Mark himself. I haven't had any direct communication with Mark since April.The problem is ITS NOT a made up handle right? It cam directly, do not pass go, do not go to jail from me? So, all I have to do is sit back and watch you hang yourself as Mark seems somewhat determined to enforce his rules. If I know why you picked that handle, Mark sure as shootin' does as well.Change your handle and stop looking for trouble dude.

Someone asked about Zim's offseason conditioning. He and Lombo were at the Park in the training rooms every day all winter. Careful . . . next thing you know is that some of the armchair athletes here will change their complaint to: "Sheesh, of course he's tired, he was working out every day over the winter and needed some time off!" and then start blaming the Nats trainers for that, too.

Just a question. How many games have Moore and his best buddy, Brown played together?And since Browns first camp with the Nats was 2011 at the ML level and Moore was in the minor league camp, how has this bond been established?Just asking.

Moore and Lombo seem pretty tight. 2 things about Zim — once last year he was actually kidding around in the dugout (yea, hard to believe) and he showed his "guns" — quite impressive. Also – before he hurt his shoulder he was all over the place on the basepaths and making defensive plays. He can get very physical. Last year the aforementioned David Wright broke a bone in his back making a defensive play. When you have guys that go all out they are going to hurt themselves. You know Harper is going to ding himself up. And not just with his own bat.He might actually injure himself with his own hair today. Have you seen that picture? Wow.

Peric,I've never responded to you vile before, but though you are a somewhat knowledgable fan, you really come across as a childish troublemaker. What makes you feel that you have to have such a superior attitude? Man, we're all just baseball fans trying to share our love, and support, for the Nats. You're no better then anybody else. Give your opinion, and disagree with others without the snotty attitude.Just a Joe Seamhead editorial. Now back to our regular scheduled programming.GYFNG!!!

Just a question. How many games have Moore and his best buddy, Brown played together?Doh numbskull I thought you were no longer technologically disabled. Sheesh still ancient and creaking … as bryce would say … clown commentbro.

a somewhat knowledgable fan, you really come across as a childish troublemaker.And you Joe Seamhead come across as an ignorant child who is too preoccupied to follow along. Last time I looked I didn't adopt a specific handle that would almost certainly denigrate another poster. Mr. pRAA did. who is childish again? Just re-read Mark's rules and let me know when you're done.Sheesh the IQ level continues to diminish here.

Peric. if you believe our IQ Level continues to dimish here, may I suggest that you head over to Nats Journal or perhaps Federal Baseball? Maybe the IQ level is higher at one of those blogs?May I kindly make the same offer to you Michelle? I was here FIRST well before you were a Nats fan. As Truman used to say, if the kitchen is too hot get the heck out lady.

Boys, boys, boys. Now, when the lovely and talented and dear Ms. MicheleS tells you all to cool it, it's time to put down the verbal swords.After all, we're all in a state of euphoria here, right. Right?

I was just suggesting this since you seem so disatisfied with the Insiders. Maybe the IQ level would be more to your liking on another blog? OH..And how do you know I wasn't an Anon posting when this First started up?

I was just suggesting this since you seem so disatisfied with the Insiders. Maybe the IQ level would be more to your liking on another blog? OH..And how do you know I wasn't an Anon posting when this First started up?.Well, because there weren't any on NJ. And last I looked intelligence isn't a weak area where I am concerned. I think you may be confusing me with Natsjack in that sense.

I am thoroughly enjoying the replay of the game. Sadly, I just got to the part where Drabek got hurt. I hope the kid is okay. Saw the arm angle, ouch. Saw where the Jays put Morrow on the DL.Now, that is what I call an intelligent comment. Yes its ours (and the Nats FO) greatest fear with all of these power arms they've collected. It is kind of scary … isn't it?

Good call Michele. Maybe he can show up at Marks gathering tomorrow and stake his claim to brilliance. I know I' d be there if at all possible but I'm staying home and sitting the dogs while my housemate attends the series against the Yankees with her son from NY.She'll be sitting about 10 rows behind the Yankees dugout. She'll wear here Snieder shirt Friday and the BamBam #34 shirt I got her on Saturday.

ARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHH! Knock it off!!!!!!! So – how about we chat about how much fun it is to be a nats fan today? Tyler Moore just made me smile with his aw shucks attitude – so humble. The rookie trio is fun to watch. So lots of nats hitting home runs this year — I was asking during the game thread who had NOT hit one this year — just Morse for the main characters and a few starting pitchers. ho hum – not even a small, elite club anymore. I did not see that coming, by the way. Morse with zero and zim with , what – 2? But everybody else, including the pitchers are hitting it out.

Swami… I'm really craving Morse banging his helmet as he rounds second base. I wonder what the over/under is for Morse homering. I'd have to say Saturday.Espinosa is gonna be a force in the Yankee series and RZim always rises to the occasion. Didn't he hit a walk-off HR on Father's Day vs Chien Ming Wang of the Yankees? Or was it a grand slam?

baseballswami….lighten up. It's all about the Nats. Some of us are giddy with the success and understand that our system will produce competent replacements as they develope.Others feel that immediate replacements need to happen.I prefer to let the results dictate.

A little background , pal. I was born and raised a Senator's fan. I've played ball, coached ball, played men's fast pitch softball, put a curse on Bob Short's hemroids, went to the very first game that the Nats played in Philly, and go to every Nats game that I can against the Phillies just because I detest their fans taking over our house.An ignorant child? Maybe in a previous life. Now I'm a Grumpy Old Man of Baseball that lives and breathes the Nats, their farm system, and their fans.I won't humor you, nor try to offer you a constructive criticism again.GYFNG!

Morse is making some hard contact. It's going to happen. Harper, Lombo, Tyler Moore, Solano — 11 home runs. Zim and Morse together? 3 I understand that Morse has not like Dh'ing. Maybe when he is playing in the field again he will unleash the beast!!!

I used to be a semi-regular over at Kilgore's blog until I got sick of you-know-who; I finally left – and haven't been back – when the jerk said something to me that, if it wasn't libelous, was damned close. He's still there, and I'm gone. Somehow doesn't seem right to me, but life ain't fair that way.Shortly after I got here, someone put up a post slamming Mark for allegedly only asking players softball questions, and Mark came back with guns blazing. I sent him a note of appreciation, and he actually responded, much to my surprise. I became a serious fan of this site as a result, because it looked like the adults were in charge here.I hatehatehate these childish arguments. I really don't care to read about your personal issues with each other; if you can't resist, could y'all please come to tomorrow's get-together, exchange email addresses and carry on your feuds elsewhere, in private?Thanks.

A couple of things that I've noticed about Zim's swing include letting the first pitch strike float by, the way JWerth used to do too much of last season. Other posters have noticed the same thing.Also, probably for the good, Zim isn't lifting his left front leg lately, as high as he has in past seasons.Davey thinks that he might be hurt. OK Davey, why don't you ask him????

Short would have left one year sooner but there was a clause in WTOP's radio contract that gave the team the right to demand specific performance of his promise to provide major league baseball games. Thank the lawyers.

Just finished the Replay and besides the Obvious TyMo and Stras comments: Lidge's slider is nasty when it is on! I hope that is a good sign for him. I hope Beast gets on track soon. I know he hates being the DH and it looks like he is just a hair off on his timing. Slightly disappointed that Kristina didn't bust GIO on his twitter stuff yesterday. Let's bring on the Yanks!!!! GYFNG!!!

Seriously – how long has Bryce been up? Seems like years already. I love watching him play, but he is also quite a character.Something tells me he will be regularly quoted through the years. That was a classic – and not rude,either. Even though it seems funny now, I think he was truly insulted. How do they stand him and Gio on the same airplane?

MicheleS — Lidge's 9th inning was completely overlooked with the win streak, Strassie pitching and Tyler Moore. He looked really good and I was completely skeptical when he went in. Another weapons in the bullpen would be so sweet right now.

Well, I just got through the latest Peric vs the world tirades and in between there was actually some intelligent baseball discussed. I also confirmed that I am in the camp of Seamhead, MichelleS, NatsJack etc but that is old news.I am really going to miss being there tomorrow but a bottle of red wine and Bonnie Raitt will be a decent excuse. I will toast all of my immaginary friends (as well as Wonk & Michelle & Nats Jack who I have actually met).As usual, I skipped the in-game comments, hope it didn't get bad in there as well. MichelleS, you nailed it on Lidge & like Swami, I was hoping Davey had someone else warming up when he entered. He was a force in ST and if he can come in and handle the 7th then its even better for Clip & Storen. I have been retired for over 3 years now and this might have been one of those "aha" moments when I could just stay home, not go to the gym, work out in the yard and listen to pure heaven as Charlie & Dave helped me enjoy a beautiful day. I also got to go in at various times and watch (man is dvr great!)the plays I needed to see again like Moore's first 2 rbi's and his home runs. Have fun tomorrow Nats Insiders and thanks again Mark for all you do. Candide, like you, Mark has answered both of my emails and that is just so impressive. Go Nats!! & Go NatsInsider!!

Yanks nip Atlanta 3-2! That makes the Nats' lead five games and in soul possession of first place.With all due respect to MicheleS, that's worth at least a lower case "wooo-hooo!!"(Copyright, MicheleS, 2011).

Look, until you all stop engaging these unfortunates, and until Mark simply deletes them mercilessly, they will continue to foul the nest. There is no alternative. Ignore them without exception, or live with it.

Just realized the 5 game lead that the Nats have over the tied for second place Braves and Mets is the widest margin of any current division leader!Now our 6 game winning streak will go up against the Yanks 6 game winning streak. Let's make ours a 9!